Chapter 141: Can You Be a Little More Reliable?
Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Can You Be a Little More Reliable?
Hearing the commotion downstairs, the nanny eventually rushed up.
Upon seeing the group gathered in the old woman’s room, she immediately recalled someone’s prior instructions, her hand quietly slipping into her pocket.
"What are you all doing up here? Weren’t you told you weren’t allowed on the second floor? Ha! I knew you people were up to no good, sneaking up here to steal things while the master of the house is away. Just you wait. I’ve already called the police. None of you will get away today!"
"The police? Good. You’d better call them. I’d like to see just who they arrest when they arrive." Dennis Donovan gripped his beloved’s hand, his heart aching. "Was it this vicious woman who locked you in here? Don’t be afraid. I’m here now. I’ll make sure you get justice today."
Arabella Donovan’s lips twitched. "Grandpa, perhaps we should get this lady out of here first, and talk later."
Preston’s focus, however, was a little skewed. "Grandpa? You have a granddaughter?"
Dennis Donovan shuddered, quickly explaining, "No, no, no, let me explain. She’s just a distant junior relative, not my actual granddaughter."
Arabella Donovan was quick to react as well. "Right, right. Grand-uncle, she probably won’t dare call the police, but the people in this village are all friendly with them. The relatives and neighbors are very tight-knit. If this blows up, we’ll likely be trapped here."
’Phew, that was close. One wrong word and I would’ve sparked a domestic crisis. But can you two wait until we’re out of here to catch up? How old are you, anyway? You still need a junior like me to be your romance’s security guard. Can’t you be a little more dependable?’
"You..." Preston’s eyes shot wide open. She pointed at Arabella Donovan, at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Dennis Donovan vaguely guessed what was happening and chuckled. "I’ll explain the specifics to you later. It’s not safe here. Let’s leave first."
"Trying to leave? Not so easy." The middle-aged nanny was now certain that Arabella Donovan and her group were in cahoots with Preston.
She didn’t consider that they might be old acquaintances of Preston’s; she only thought of Arabella Donovan’s group as relatives from the Preston Family who had come to steal the painting. With a ferocious expression, she raised a knife and charged at them.
The tall and sturdy Howard finally had a chance to prove his worth after all these years on the job. Before the nanny could get close to Arabella and the others, he disarmed her and kicked her out the door.
Just then, Shawn Preston, having returned from a jaunt outside, walked through his courtyard gate. Following him were several middle-aged men, their faces flushed with excitement.
"Shawn, is what you just said true? Those people who came to our village this afternoon, they’re paying thirty thousand right off the bat?"
"Didn’t I just show you? Could it be fake? Don’t think I’m not looking out for you all when a good opportunity comes up. So many of them came, and my uncle’s house is only so big; it’s definitely not enough space. The rest of them have probably ended up at some lucky person’s house. If you go and ask around now, you might just be able to pick up a straggler or two. That’s money we’re talking about!"
The men exchanged glances, clearly tempted.
"But I heard the main ones are staying at your place. The rest of them... they’re just employees, right? I doubt they have much money."
"Even a mosquito is still meat. They might not have much, but they’re richer than us. Besides, for bodyguards like them, all their travel, food, and lodging expenses can be reimbursed. If you’re worried they’ll find it too expensive, just quote them a little less. Five or six hundred should be fine, right?"
"Five or six hundred is a lot! A three or four-day stay would be almost a month’s salary for me."
The group was chattering animatedly about money when the nanny’s spirits lifted at the sound of Shawn Preston’s voice. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her stomach from the kick, she scrambled to the top of the stairs and screamed, "Preston! They’re taking someone! Those outsiders went upstairs and are taking someone by force!"
Shawn Preston, who was still in the courtyard basking in everyone’s flattery, paled. "What? They went upstairs to take someone by force?"
He didn’t have time to think. He abandoned the group and sprinted inside.
The men in the courtyard were also stunned. After a long moment, one of them said, "I knew those outsiders were trouble! Quick, go get more people to help!"
Immediately, some of them followed him to help, while the others turned and ran outside to find more people.
Arabella Donovan’s worst fear had come true. The group was just helping the old woman out of the room when Shawn Preston and the villagers caught up to them on the second floor.
"Miss Sterling, are you all right?"
"I’m fine." The nanny, pale-faced, could barely stand up straight from Howard’s kick. "These people snuck up here while I was downstairs. They want to take your grandmother, and they even hit me when I found them out."
"This is completely lawless, coming into my house to take someone! Uncles, you all heard her. These outsiders are nothing but robbers and bandits! We can’t let them just take my grandmother away like this."
Preston knew that most of these villagers had been deceived and used by Shawn Preston’s family and hadn’t been involved in her imprisonment. She stepped forward and berated Shawn Preston directly.
"Who are you calling your grandmother? You’re the ones who locked me up, imprisoned me, and abused me! And now you want to slander the people who came to save me? You’re the ones who are lawless!"
The people from Lewis Village standing behind Shawn Preston looked at each other, completely baffled.
A cold glint flashed in Shawn Preston’s eyes, but his face showed an expression of anxiety and sorrow. "My grandmother is old. She started losing her mind a few years ago and would wander off. That’s why my parents couldn’t bear to leave her home alone and hired a caretaker to look after her."
"She can’t tell good people from bad people right now. These people must have taken advantage of that, deliberately saying things to sow discord and deceive her. Uncles, you can’t let them take my grandmother. Who knows what they plan to do with her?"
Shawn Preston had, after all, lived in the same village as these people for over twenty years. His words were naturally more credible than those of these strangers. The villagers from Lewis Village, who had been wavering just a moment ago, immediately switched sides.
"Shawn’s right. No matter what they’re planning, we can’t let them just take her away today."
"Yeah, leave her here!"
"Leave her here."
Arabella Donovan glanced at the number of people on each side and frowned, reminding them, "Stop wasting time talking to them. We need to go, now. More people will show up soon, and then we really won’t be able to leave."
Her voice had barely faded when the village chief’s voice came from outside, "What’s going on?"
It was followed by a cacophony of footsteps. You could tell a large crowd had arrived just by listening.
In an instant, everyone on Dennis Donovan’s side turned to stare at Arabella Donovan.
Arabella Donovan: "..."
’Seriously? It’s common sense that whenever things get heated in a village, it attracts a whole bunch of relatives to "help" and countless onlookers to gawk. It’s only you sheltered city folks with your limited experience who don’t get it. Why are you all looking at me like I jinxed us and summoned them here? You’re making a mountain out of a molehill!’
Her ’inexperienced’ companions: "..." Fair enough.